What a concept: New album sets high bar for Wilmington hip-hop

Over the past decade, no artist has done more to create and sustain a Wilmington hip-hop scene than Danny Louis Thomas, who performs under the name Louis. the Rapper, or just Louis.

Not only has he consistently released his own work, laid-back jams packed with light-bulb moments of lyrical insight, but he's helped nuture other artists and, just as importantly, identified and secured local spaces where hip-hop can thrive.

In some ways, Louis., who's just 28, is the face and voice of Wilmington hip-hop, and on Dec. 19 he released a soulful, jazz-driven new album, "Indigo Child," that marks the high point (so far) of his artistic achievements here.

It's a concept album about the title character, the Indigo Child, who emerges from humble origins in the near future to realize that he possesses rudimentary superpowers, powers he needs to develop and learn to control. The realization takes him on an emotional and spiritual journey on which he finds both that he is his own arch-nemesis and that the only way to overcome that is to embrace the power of community.

"I've tried to explain the album every type of way," Louis. said in a promo video for "Indigo Child." "At the end of the day, the album is just about that space that everybody gets to where you're trying to figure out what your purpose in life is. And because everybody's purpose is unique, you end up having to go on your own path."

"The Indigo Child could be anybody," he said. "The Indigo Child could even be you."

On Jan. 12, Louis. will perform his new album in its entirety with his backing band, The Indigo Children, at Castle Street listening room Live at Ted's. That show is on a low-ticket alert and will likely be sold out by the time you read this, but Louis. and the Indigo Children will repeat their "Indigo Child" performance Jan. 26 at Waterline Brewing, where they'll be joined by some special guests.

On a stormy Tuesday morning, Louis. met up to talk about his new album, and about the state of Wilmington hip-hop, at the Wilmington coffee shop 24 South. He was dressed casually, wearing a gray hoodie with the "Saturday Morning Cartoons" logo (the title of one of his former projects), a blue ball cap and white high-tops, with wire-rimmed glasses, gold earrings and a gold hoop through his nose. He ordered a hot chocolate.

Settling into a corner seat, Louis. said the idea for "Indigo Child" was born around 2018 in conjunction with the man he calls his mentor, Sam Brown, who with Louis. is also the album's co-proucer.

"I was actually trying to write a movie," Louis, said. "I tried to get the concept, have an idea, and then write to that idea."

He'd been studying a book on screenwriting, but after coming up with the story he decided to make it into an album. Due perhaps to the material's origins, the songs play out almost visually, like an audio graphic novel.

"We wanted to just make a space where people could imagine themselves," he said.

Concept albums, in which all of the songs tie into an overarching story or theme, got their start in the rock world. The Who's "Tommy" and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" are two of the more famous examples.

But the concept album format was eventually adopted by hip-hop artists like Lupe Fiasco, whose 2007 record "The Cool" was "the first album that I really gravitated to on my own," Louis. said, after growing up in a Christian household where gospel was the main genre.

On "Indigo Child," the format allows him to be autobiographical and even allegorical as he riffs on such societal ills as income inequality, but in a less direct (and therefore less preachy) fashion.

Throughout, the album mines a mix of jazz, soul, funk and blues to build a mellow groove, while Louis.'s laid-back yet rapid-fire vocals make connections and drop references to everything from Marcus Garvey and Atlantis to the Bible.

Standout tracks include the funky, boom-bap soul of "Butterfly Affect," with its smooth bars from guest vocalist Median; the head-bobbing bass and drums on "Teca 747"; the bluesy, jam-rock vibe of "A Little Further/Superstar"; and the twinkling keys and high-flying chorus of "Let's Ride," which he shares with the vocalist Farrah.

The album marks a culmination of Louis.'s time in Wilmington, where he moved in 2013 from his hometown of Jacksonville to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He'd later co-found the hip-hop/jazz band Temple 5 and help start the hip-hop/beat-making collective Beats & Coffee.

He also helped carve out a scene for hip-hop at Wrightsville Beach hotspot Jimmy's, where he DJs most weekends, and he made Waterline Brewing downtown a hip-hop destination for his Indigo Sessions series, which has highlighted both area rappers and jazz players.

By any measure 2023 was a good year for hip-hop in Wilmington, with multiple releases of new work and the first-ever 3 Chambers Festival (held partly at Waterline), a celebration it's hard to imagine occuring if Louis. and other artists, like his sometimes-collaborator DJ RizzyBeats, hadn't help lay the groundwork.

And 2024 is off to a good start, with Louis., Wilmington hip-hop artist MoeSOS DC and old-school Wilmington rapper Fuzz Jackson playing a well-attended show Jan. 6 at Bourgie Nights headlined by Trent the HOOLiGAN, who grew up in Wilmington.

"I think there was some trepidation at some point in time, like when I first got here in 2013," Louis. said. "I think it was other things being conflated with hip-hop, shows with bunches of people being crazy and stuff like that. I don't know, I guess it had people scared or whatever."

It's hard not to see a racial element there, because Wilmington has hosted rock shows with rowdy white audiences for many decades, and rock continues to be a staple in local clubs. Less so over the years with hip-hop, but perhaps that's changing.

"I mean, it's a Black art form," Louis. said. "So Black people are going to come to your shows. I think business owners have to be comfortable with that and help create accommodating spaces for Black show-goers so that, you know, people do want to come back. And I think that ultimately makes the culture better."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington, NC artist Louis. the rapper releases 'Indigo Child' album